Joint construction for shovel handles and the like



April 25, 1933. c. E. PATCHELL *1,906,218

JOINT CONSTRUCTION FOR SHOVEL HANDLES AND THE LIKE Filed May 26, 1951 i@ 8 INvEHToR Charles E.Palohell.

Patented Apr. 25, 1933 UNITED STATES GIYHARLES Il?.` PATCHELL, F PORTLAND, MAINE JOINT CONSTRUCTION FOR SHOVEL HANDLES AND THE LIKE Application filed May 26, 1931.

" wise be the case.

' The scope of application of my invention is broad, and for this reason anl attemptwill be made to illustrate its fundamental characteristics in only one concrete` instance, and

for this purpose I have elected to disclose it as it would be employed on the wooden handle of an ordinary shovel, although it is obvious that the invention is susceptible of embodiment in a wide range of other de- `vices,-.-such as fishing rods, automobile jack handles, tent standards etc.

I amV aware that foldable or knock-down Y handles or lshafts have been employed in various types of mechanical structure Where contraction of the parts has beenthe chief consideration, butin many instances thestrength and rigidity of the jointed portion has been so completely ignored or lost sight of that the device as a whole has not given S the service. required of it and hasaccordingly been discarded as an impractical prop- Y osition.

In the present invention I have sought, first of all, to provide a joint structure characterized by its substantiality.4 Without this quality a jointed handle is useless. A shovel at timesis used roughly and its handle is then subjected to severe bending and twisting strains, but if equipped with folding mechanism made to kwithstand such treatment itis a very handy and convenient utensil in` many situations. t v

The bifurcated ends of the two handle eler ments in my device'are obliquely cut and `when extended are arranged to closely abut Serial No. 540,100.

on their flat faces. This provides an overlapping jointwhich is calculated to greatly augment the capa-cityV of the joint to retain alignment of the two handle elements.

Ordinary shovel handles are constructed '5o of Wood, and with a jointed handle more or less cutting is required to be done adjacent the pivoting points. This weakens them somewhat so that there is a liability'ofsplitting the ends from the pivot holes; in order to obviate this difficulty I protect the ends where the bifurcation is made by mounting thereon metal reenforcements.

The connecting element between the two handle parts is a metal link serving also as=r a double key which operates in diametrically opposed keyways in a relatively long sleeve which covers the whole jointed structure when the parts are extended. This method of keying the individual parts of the handle to the sleeve stiffens the assembled elements and holds them in correct alignment; it also prevents rotation of the sleeve while in the users hand while operating the shovel. A spring-'stop member is provided for locking the sleeve against upward movement on the handle when the parts are in extended positions, and further functions, when the parts are folded, to frictionally hold the sleeve on the outer handle member.

The character of the invention may best be understood by reference to the description found in the following specification lwhen taken in connection with the accompanying drawing depicting an embodiment which, at the present time, I consider preferable to other possible forms in which the invention might be carried out.

In the drawing,- S5 Fig. l is a perspective view of a woodhandle shovel equipped with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, the parts being shown in folded position;

Fig. 3 is a top view of the jointed portion 90 of the handle with the sleeve withdrawn, exposing the jointed parts;

Fig. 4 is a side view of the parts shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail showing the bifurcated end of one of the handle parts, the link and the metal reenforcements;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view showing a section taken on line 66, Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a view particularly showing the spring-stop Fig. 8 shows the bifurcated end of one of the handles, and

Fig. 9 is a perspective of the metal reenforcement ferrules used on the bifurcated ends.

Similar reference characters are employed to identify like parts in all views of the drawing.

Referring to the drawing, S represents a wooden-handle shovel in its entirety, Sa, being the blade and Sb the hand-grip. The handle, or intermediate portion, is of the articulated or jointed type and comprises two independent elements l and 2, being respectively its lower` and upper portions.

The handle is round and the mutually abutting ends of its two parts are cut obliquely with respect to their axes, so that when the handle parts are in alignment, as seen in Figs. 1 and 4, these ends overlap and the longer sides of the handles extend a greater distance from their pivotal points than would be the case were they eut square.

Extending from the oblique faces a and b of the handle parts l and 2, respectively, are scarfs or slots 3, and operating in these scarfs is a link 4 pivotally connected to the parts l and 2 by pivot pins 5 and. G, respectively.

By reference to Fig. 4 it will be observed that the link 4t extends outwardly from opposite sides of the periphery of the handles to form two keys ta which latter engage, respectively, the two keyways 7 in the long` slidably mounted sleeve 8 when it is ad vanced to cover the jointed portions of the handle.

The parts are thus quite effectively held Ain alignment and the sleeve prevented from turning on the handle while gripped by the `operator or user of the shovel, a construction which avoids more or less wear on the wooden parts where the sleeve is mounted on the handle so that it can revolve thereon.

In the operation of folding or extendng the parts of the handle there is always present the possibility ot abnormally straining the pivotal connections .and causing injury to the abutting ends of the handle part-s unless due care is exercised in swinging the i sections int-o or out of position.

The portion 2 and the link 4 should be kept in line and swung from the pivot pin 5 until they assume a position substantially normal to the portion l of the handle. The part 2 may then be swung on its pivot 6 toward the blade of the shovel without interference taking place between the two portions of the handle.

To anticipate and eliminate the chance of injuring the parts I protect the bifurcated ends of the handle by metal reenforeements in the form of ferrules F, shown in detail in Figs. 5 and 9, the branches of the bifurcated parts being reduced in. size so that when the ferrules are in place a uniform diameter for the full length of the jointed portion of the handle is had. Fig. 8 shows the reduced portion of the abutting ends of the handles.

l/Vhen the sleeve 8 is advanced to the shank Se of the blade Sa a spring-stop 9 acts to prevent recession of the sleeve until such time as it is desired to fold the handle when, by depressing the spring-stop, the sleeve may be withdrawn on to the handle portion 2, exposing the jointed portion, as shown in Fig, 3, in which position of the sleeve the spring-stop operates to frctionally hold it in place.

A fixed stop l0 restricts the withdrawal movement of the sleeve on the portion 2 of the handle.

Reverting briefiy to a consideration of therH of sleeve in each case, than would obtain with a square cut end. Furthermore, one end acts to support the other against both lateral and torsional strains and thereby assists in maintaining alignment of the parts.

And the feature of keying opposite sides' of the bifurcated portions of the two sections of the handle to the sleeve with a single key unit amply provides for all demands in the matter of preserving rigidity and unification of the parts under all conditions of service.

And with respect to its use there would appear to be no more appropriate field for the folding handle shovel than on a motor vehicle, particularly those devoted to pleasure, on which, while not always convenient to carry a full length handle shovel, a space sufcient to store a jointed one is usually available.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A device of the character described comprising in combination two end-abutting, axially aligning handle elements having their ends obliquely cut, and overlapping, a scarf cut in each of said elements, mutually aligning and connected, a link disposed in said scarfs, pins pivotally connecting each of said elements with said link, a. key portion on the faces of said link extending outwardly from opposite sides of the periphery of said handle elements, a sleeve disposed on and slidable over said elements, keyways in said sleeve adapted, respectively, to engage the key portions on said link, a spring-stop to prevent receding of said sleeve after completing its full advancing movement-` and a fixed stop to limit the backward movement of said sleeve.

2. A device of the character described comprising two round handle elements having bifurcated ends, the branches thereof abutting with flat, obliquely cut Jfaces mutually overlapping, and the space between said branches in both elements being continuous, a link disposed within said continuous space, a key portion on the two edges, respectively, of said link extending outwardly from the periphery of said elements, a pin pivotally connecting each of said elements with said link, a sleeve slidably mounted on said elements, two keyways in said sleeve adaptable of engagement, respectively, with said key portions, a spring stop adapted to hold said sleeve against receding movement on said elements only when fully covering said pivotal connections, and a reenforcing errule on the end of each branch of the .)ifurcated portions of said handle elements.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

CHARLES E. PATCHELL. 

